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formed at the Royal Theatre — to operas by Mozart, Verdi and Puccini and the ballets. The latter are especi- ally dear to the Danes. The founder of the ballet school, Auguste Bournonville, made the following golden rule his own, that beauty will always retain its freshness whereas the stupendous has a tiring effeet in the long run. Bournonville’s compositions unite admirable choreo- graphy with French “esprit” and Danish poetry. Dancers from Denmark have achieved farne on the big stages abroad and Adelina Genée, famous throughout the Eng- lish-speaking world, has ever been a welcome guest at the National Theatre of her own country. Several Danish singers won international farne, such as Vilhelm Herold and Lauritz Melchior. Two of the most prominent actors of the present day, Johannes Poulsen and Poul Reumert, have staged plays and acter, not only in the Scandinavian countries, but also abroad. Johannes Poulsen staged “Everyman” at Hollywood very splendidly and Poul Reumert has acted, as French-speaking guest, at the state- supported theatres in Paris. The Royal Theatre is owned by the Danish State and subsidised, partly direetly by the State and partly by a culture fund. The subsidies amount to just above one million Kroner annually. Moreover, the theatre is sup­ ported by a special system of subscriptions from the various boards of the metropolis. The Minister for Education is the head of the management but comform- able to the statutes of February 14, 1935, the theatre enjoys a very independent constitution and it is supreme in all matters concerning art. 23

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